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M. A. OPPERMANN. GLASS POLISHING 111101111111.

No. 513,618. Y Patented Jan. so, 1894.

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WSHINGTON. D O.

l Y \v Patented Jan. 30, 1894.

M. A'. OPPERMANN. GLASS POLISHING MAGHINB.

(No Model.)

No. 513,618j

NrTED ST rss VMARTIN A. OPPERMANN, OF COURCELLES, BELGIUM.

cLAss-PoLlsl-HNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 518,618, dated January 30,1894.

Applioationtiled August 7,1893. Serial No. 482,583- (No model.) l

To @ZZ whom t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN A. OPPERMANN, a resident of Courcelles, in the Kingdom of Belgium, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Glass-Polishing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to machines for polishing plate glass, its object being to provide a machine which is steady in its action and in .which the polishers are held in proper position in the frame without vibration as when held in a separate or auxiliary frame, and in which rapid means for changing the disk or table carrying the plate or plates so .that the same may be carried away and the plate removed therefrom Aand another disk substituted and the polishing proceed.

To these ends my invention comprises, generally stated, a vertically movable and circularly revoluble disk or table carrying the glass to be polished and a frame above the same having an orbital or circularlyvibrating movement over the table, the shafts for the polish- I be covered will be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is aplan view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section, the gearing below the table being shown in full lines, and Fig. 3 showing an enlarged cross section illustrating the manner of mounting the polisher shafts in the frame. p

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each of the views.

In the drawings a, is the central shaft to the upper end of which is secured the disk ZJ carrying the table c on which the plate glass is mounted. This shaft a has its upper bearing in the bridge plate a which extends across the top of the pit or well A and is rmly imbedded in the lmasonry at the top thereof so as to form an absolutely steady bearing for the shaft. The lower end of said shaft is mounted in the step or ink d which is formed at the upper end of the plunger e of the hydraulic ram e, which is mounted at the lower end of the pit and provides the means for raising and lowering the shaft a, and with it the disk b and table c; these parts being vertically movable bymeans of the ram e to which hydraulic pressure is applied through suitable apparatus which it is not considered necessary to illustrate. The object of forming the table and its supporting disk vertically movable is primarily to provide for the bringing of the'plate in contact with the polishers so that it will take the Weight thereof in the polishing operation, while mounting the polishers directly in the circularly vibrating frame so as to provide a steadier bearing for the shafts thereof and a more perfect action of the polishers upon the glass. A further object is to provide for the feeding of the table to and the withdrawal of the same from the apparatus, as each tablehas the rollers or wheels c', four or more as found desirable, which engage with the rails c2 on the bed of the machine under the frame F which carries the polishers, so that the table may be brought on such track c2 in position to be engaged by the disk b and may be raised by the same into contact with the polishers, and, when the polishing operation is completed, it may be lowered upon the track and carried away from the apparatus and another such table substituted. Thestep or ink d may be supported by the hydraulic ram during the whole of the polishing operation if desired,

4but this is not considered necessary as the plunger may be locked in any desired position and by any suitable wedging or locking means, and for that purpose the drawings show the wedges g sliding in suitable guideways on the top of the ram c and adapted to pass under the shoulder g of the ink dfsuch wedges supporting the load of the revoluble disk and table. In this way the plunger is ICO independently supported at such point as will hold the table in proper position for the polishing operation. Any other suitable lock, as, for instance, blocks engaging directly with the plunger e', may be employed. I do not find it necessary to provide any means for positively Vdriving the disk b and its table c, as the orbital movement of the polisher frame over the same generally imparts sufficient movement to the table. Such power may, however, be ,applied by suitable connections which may engage with the shaft a by means of a feather, if necessary.

The polisher frame F is formed of a series of beams all upon the same horizontal plane, and so located and supported, the one with relation to the other, as to provide bearings Ifor the proper polishers over the surface of the plate to be polished. For example, the polisher frame has the central longitudinal beam h and the end longitudinal beams t', these three beams forming the main body of the frame and being connected by the central cross beam k and the end cross beams lo. Connecting the beams 1I and k are the diagonal beams l and connecting the central beams h and 7c are the short diagonal beams Z', the

. diagonal beams Z l being connected by the radial beams y. Curved beams w and short beams u connect these several beams to form supports for the bearings n of the polisher shafts, the several beams so forming the frame F, being rigidly connected together on the same horizontal plane, and a rigid frame in which no part is liable to Wabbling and uneven action, and in which all of the bearings for the polisher shafts can be held in exact vertical line, is obtained. The method of mounting the polisher shafts m in these radial beams is shown in Fig. 3, each shaft extending through the bearing plates n which are secured to the webs or bodies of the beams by bolting, as at n. The polishers 1o may be secured to the shafts m either rigidly, so that the shafts turn therewith, or loosely, so that the polishers hang loosely at the lower ends of the shafts, the shafts themselves being supported in their bearings by the nuts or heads m' at the upper end thereof and the polishers being thus hung from the polisher frame when the table islowered away from them, while when the table is raised against the polishers their shafts slide upwardly within the bearings n, and the entire weight of the polishers is brought upon the plate to be polished.

The frame F with its polishers has what may be termed an orbital or circularly vibrating movement over the table, this being obtained by means of the vertical crank shafts carrying the same, the frame being preferably mounted on three crank shafts at each end, that is,one at each end of the longitudinal beamshand z'. These crank shafts r carry the crank fr and are mounted in bearings s on the bed B, and may either all be driven, or, as preferred by me,the central crank shafts engaging with the central longitudinal beam h are powerl driven. vFor this purpose any suitable gearing may be employed, the drawings showing bevel gears t at the lower ends of the shafts r which engage with bevel gears u on the longitudinalpower shaft u', which is shown as extending underneath the ram e.

When the polishing machine is in use the polishers p are covered by suitable felt, and the plate to be polished is secured upon the table c by embedding in plaster in the usual way; and the table is run along the track c2 until brought directly over the disk b. Power is then applied to the ram e, and the plunger e carrying the shaft a and disk b raised until the disk b engages with the table, and the shaft, table and disk are further raised, lifting the table from the track until the plate to be polished is brought in contact with the polishers carried by the polisher frame, and

until the shafts of such polishers are raised within their bearings so that the polishers are supported upon the plate to be polished and the weight thereof brought upon such plate. As soon as the parts are brought t0 this position the plunger e of the ram is locked, either by the wedges g or by other suitable supporting means, and the machine is ready for the polishing operation.

During the polishing operation rouge or other polishing material is placed upon the plate and the polishing frame F set in vibration, and While it travels in a circular or orbital course over the table c, the contact of the polishers with the plate will serve to turn the table c upon the shaft a, the lshaft turning in its bearings a and d, and the proper speed for the polishing operation being thus imparted to the table. carried over the surface. to be polished, their shafts are held in the proper vertical plane by means of the rigid frame on which they are mounted, and all possibility of the wabbling or uneven movement of the polishers or their shafts is overcome, a very important improvement in this peculiar class of machines, and one which adds to the rapidity of the polishing operation and the perfectness of the plate produced. At the same time, as the Weight of the polishers is carried upon the plate, the necessary heat for polishing is thus generated and the plate is rapidly polished, it requiring only from three to four hours to .polish one side or plate. As soon as the plate is polished, the blocks or wedges supporting the table are withdrawn, the table is lowered till it rests upon the tracks, and it is carried away from the polishing apparatus and an other table carrying a plate to be polished in serted, when the operation can be repeated.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In glass polishing apparatus, the combination of a revoluble table carrying the plate, a polisher frame above the same having an orbital or circularly vibrating movement, said frame being formed of longitudinal and cross As the polishers are IOO IIO

beams and of radial beams secured thereto and on the same horizontal plane, and the series of polishers mounted directly on said frame, substantially as set forth.

2. In glass polishing apparatus, the combination of a vertically movable and revoluble table, a polisher frame having an orbital or circularly vibrating movement above the same, said frame being formed of longitudinal and cross beams and radial beams on the same horizontal plane, polishers and polisher shafts mounted in bearings on said frame and vertically movable therein, substantially as set forth.

3. In glass polishing apparatus, the combination of a circularly revoluble table, a ram supporting the step forming the lower bearing for its shaft and alock for the same in its raised position, and a polisher frame having an orbital movement over the table and car- 2o MARTIN A. OPPERMANN.

Witnesses:

ALEX. C. YOUNG, FREDERICK M. OPPEEMANN, M. S. PEAVY. 

